For A Moment
by Lady Cailan
Summary: "Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."    If one must rule Ferelden, the other must die. Short one-shot in Alistair's POV during Elissa's final sacrifice.


_A/N: A short little one shot about Elissa's sacrifice for Alistair. Not fluffy. His POV. R/R if you please. _

_ooOOOoo_

**For a Moment**

**ooo**

_~The heart that truly loves, never forgets – Proverb~_

**ooo**

Her lips were hot against his, her kiss searching, slow. As if they had all the time in the world. In the midst of battle and death, only she could touch him and make him forget the sorrow, pain and loss they had both suffered.

And would continue to suffer.

His heart was pounding as he clung to her, their armor getting in the way.

Why did it have to be this way?

She tasted of earth and fire, strong and metallic at the same time. And underneath all of that, she was just Elissa. Soft and beautiful. Strong and vulnerable. A warrior and still just a woman.

_His _woman.

He would never want another, not ever. Not even when – _Maker forbid it _- she was gone.

They finally broke apart and his heart nearly burst as he gazed into her eyes and tenderly wiped a smudge of soot from her delicate cheek. Behind them, the top floor of Fort Drakon burned high, the heat of the flames creating a sheen of sweat on her unlined brow. He ran his roughened fingers along her skin there as well, following them with his lips. He felt her respond, sighing as she leaned into his caress.

Shuddering, he could only say a few words.

"You don't have to do this."

He was stammering he knew, but the decision she had made only moments before had shaken him all the way to his core. As he gazed into her blue eyes – eyes that were so _certain _of what she was fated to do – he could not find breath to continue.

She ran the back of her hand along the side of his face, against his flesh, her skin cool in the heat of their surroundings. Battle worn hands had never felt so soft.

His eyes fluttered closed and he willed time to stop.

_Oh holy Andraste, allow me to love her for just another moment…_

"I do," came her whisper. "You sacrificed the life you wanted for the betterment of your people, my dear king. Now it is my turn. Should your sacrifice be in vain? This…has always been my fate."

He wanted to turn away so that she would not see his tears, but she cupped his face in both of her tiny hands, and she saw the glimmer of his pain, swelling, swelling and then rolling down his worn face.

"It's all right to cry," she soothed. "It doesn't make you weak, my love."

His head dropped then, towards hers, and he took another few moments to press his face against her warmth, breathing in her scent, the scent of leather and steel, warmth and flesh.

She had been his everything. From her he had learned how to love. How to cry. How to _feel. _Until that moment, he had not realized how much a part of him she truly was.

"I cannot," he choked, voice thick with his tears. "Without you, I cannot. Please…"

His words were whimpers of desperation. He was reduced to weak begging, hoping against hope that this could be resolved in some other way, although he knew it was either his life, or hers.

She stood back, holding his hands in her own tightly, her voice always finding new ways to calm him.

"You must. Remember Duncan. Remember your country. Have courage!" she urged, just as Duncan had urged them both so many months ago. "I know you're strong, look at where it's gotten you!" she encouraged, her eyes clear as they gazed into his.

"I'd give my life, Elissa," he sobbed, reaching out to convince her. "I am nothing if you are not with me."

She smiled, and for a moment, the world was brighter to him.

"My life is not as important as yours now," she reminded gravely. "You have a duty. This is mine. And sometimes goodbye is not forever. It is only for now. Sometimes, loving someone means saying goodbye."

He shook his head dazed, feeling every one of his limbs responding sluggishly, shocked that he had no control over what was going to happen now. That the most important part of him was going to die along with the archdemon.

_Just another moment…_

Lips, soft and sweet against his. Kisses that tasted bitter, like her tears. Second after second, where he was terrified that this kiss would be their last. Or the next. Or the one after that, until…

She stepped back, lips flushed.

"I love you," she whispered, and then he saw the pain etched on her face. His breath came with great effort, so tight was his chest.

"I adore you," he murmured in response with more certainty than he had ever felt about anything.

This caused tears to come, they glittered in eyes he had for so long been smitten with.

"Be strong."

Her words, weakened by emotion, rang through his mind.

"For you I will," said he as his heart broke.

"Never forget me."

"For as long as I live."

Their whispers died out, leaving the room in silence save for the crackling of the growing fire around them. Had it only been minutes? And what now? Eternity without her?

He stood riveted in that space, hearing the sound of her armor as she walked away from him. Somewhere in his mind, he could not erase the sound of her running footfalls, the lyric sound of her battle cry, the horrific scream of the beast, and then, finally…finally…the sound of her blade.

He rushed after her, heart in his throat, just as she was falling backwards from the impact of her final blow. The beast rose up, wailing in pain, but it succumbed finally to the fatal wound, signaling the end of the Blight.

He stumbled forward, falling to his knees, and struggling through the debris in the room, reaching her just as she hit the ground. For a moment she was still alive, still warm in his arms.

For a moment, he could still hear her words, whispering how much she loved him.

For a moment, he held her closely, breathing her in, wetting her neck with his tears.

For a moment, it was their first kiss again, his mouth against hers in breathless excitement and fumbling uncertainty…

But as he gazed down at her, he realized moments could not last. She lay in his arms, spent and limp. Her hands no longer tight in his, her lips soft but unresponsive. The heat drained from her.

Outside, the sun began to set on another day as crowds gathered, running, milling towards the ruins of the fort in Denerim.

In the distance, a cry was heard. Deep and loud and full of sorrow and deep anguish.

It was the cry of a man who had lost everything important to him. One who was to face the rest of his life alone.


End file.
